Kidnappers free mother of Nigerian finance minister

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigeria's finance minister on Monday blamed her 83-year-old mother's kidnapping on those angered by the government's decision to stop making some payments for gasoline subsidies, directly linking the abduction to a program that lawmakers have described as a multi-billion dollar scam.

After calling journalists to her office to thank the country for its prayers while her mother was abducted, Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made the claim that seems to implicate some of the country's top business and political elite. Those are the same people linked to the ruling People's Democratic Party, the party of President Goodluck Jonathan, who appointed the former World Bank official.

Okonjo-Iweala's mother, Kamene Okonjo, was kidnapped Dec. 9 from her hometown of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State. During her time held captive, Okonjo received no food or water, her daughter said.

Instead, her abductors talked to her about fuel payments and another government program aimed at reinvesting money saved from not making the payments, Okonjo-Iweala said.

"They told her that I must get on the radio and television and announce my resignation," the minister said. "When she asked why, they told her it was because I did not pay oil subsidy money."

Okonjo-Iweala declined to take questions from journalists at the news conference. Her mother was released by her kidnappers Friday. It is unclear if a ransom was paid, though most abductions in Nigeria only end once a payment is made.



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UK pays large sum to Libyan family over rendition case

A Libyan family has accepted a 2.2 million-pound ($3.5 million) payout to settle a case it brought against the UK government over its role in forcibly returning them to Libya in 2004, the family's law firm said Thursday.

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Mandela doing 'very well' in hospital

Nelson Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African president and revered anti-apartheid leader, is to undergo more tests in hospital today after having a good rest on his second night in the facility, the government said.

A statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma, who visited the Nobel Peace laureate on Sunday, gave no details other than to say, "President Mandela had a good night's rest" and was "in good hands". It also thanked members of the public for their messages of support.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters after paying Mandela a visit in Pretoria's "1 Military" hospital that he was doing "very, very well".

The military is responsible for the health of sitting and former South African presidents.

Mandela, South Africa's first black president and a global symbol of resistance to racism and injustice, spent 27 years in apartheid prisons, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town.

Government officials in charge of releasing information about Mandela have repeatedly declined to provide specifics about Mandela's now three-day hospitalization, calling on citizens to respect the beloved politician's privacy. Yet Mandela represents something more than a man to many in this nation of 50 million people and to the world at large, and the longer he remains in hospital care, the louder the demand for details about the private details of his health will grow. 

"He symbolizes what our country can achieve with a statesman of his stature. He's our inspiration and personifies our aspirations," an editorial in Monday's edition of the Sowetan newspaper reads. "And that's why we dread his hospital visits, routine or not. That's why even now when we are told not to panic, we do." 

Mandela is revered for being a leader of the struggle against racist white rule in South Africa and for preaching reconciliation once he emerged from prison in 1990 after 27 years behind bars. He won South Africa's first truly democratic elections in 1994, serving one five-year term. The Nobel laureate later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. 

Somali army captures key town from Al-Shabaab rebels

The Somali National Army, along with African Union troops, on Sunday launched a long-awaited offensive against al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels and captured the town of Jowhar.


The Somali National Army, along with African Union troops, on Sunday launched a long-awaited offensive against al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels and captured the town of Jowhar, the AU and residents said.

The joint forces faced little resistance, the African Union Mission for Somalia said in a press release, adding that Jowhar had been a major base for Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.

Abdi Isac, a local resident, said by phone from Jowhar that the allied troops peacefully entered the city after the Islamist militants pulled out without a fight or firing a single shot.

Government forces and AU tanks were visible encircling the town and moving cautiously into the police stations and administrative offices in Jowhar to secure the city, residents said.

The Al-Shabaab fighters headed toward the nearby rural area that is their stronghold, reports said.

Jowhar, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, lies at a strategic crossroads of routes to the north and south of the country.

Richest Black woman in the World is NIGERIAN

 

Oprah Winfrey no longer holds the Title of the Richest Black woman Alive, Mrs Folorunso Alakija, The new leading lady is oil baroness  from Nigeria and the worlds Richest Black woman.

Drilling oil has reportedly made the 61-year-old owner of FAMFA Oil Limited a very rich woman -- she is estimated to be worth at least $3.2 billion -- Alakija started her ascent to financial supremacy in fashion.

Born into a wealthy family, Alakija studied fashion design in England back in the '80s and soon after founded the Nigerian clothing label Supreme Stitches. Her one-of-a-kind creations were worn by the who's who of African society, quickly making her the premier fashion designer in the West African country. In fact, she has been called one of the "pioneers of Nigerian fashion" and stays connected to the industry through the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FDAN).

Twin Car Bombs Devastate Military Church Near Kaduna

The Associated Press reported today that at least 11 people, were killed and about 30 injured when twin car bombs hit a Protestant church in a major military establishment in north central Nigeria, officials said Sunday, a month after a deadly church bombing in the same state.
A bus laden with explosives first rammed into St. Andrew Military Protestant Church in the military barracks in Jaji in Kaduna state at about 12noon, said the director of army public relations Brig. Gen. Bola Koleoso. Then a Toyota Camry car parked just outside the church exploded 10 minutes later, as people fled the first blast, he said.
Jaji is a symbolic target as it is home to the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, one of the country's most important military colleges, training Nigerian and foreign navy, air force and army officers.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/11/25/2420650/official-blast-hits-military-church.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/11/25/2420650/official-blast-hits-military-church.html#storylink=cpy

Sierra Leonean teen uses trash materials to invent power-generator and radio transmitter

15-Year-Old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz living in Sierra Leone who scours the trash bins for spare parts, which he uses to build batteries, generators and transmitters. Completely self-taught, Kelvin has created his own radio station where he broadcasts news and plays music under the nickname, DJ Focus.
In This Video is the Awesome Story of a boy from Sierra Leone 

Kelvin became the youngest person in history to be invited to the “Visiting Practitioner’s Program” at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. THNKR had exclusive access to Kelvin and his life-changing journey – experiencing the US for the first time, exploring incredible opportunities, contending with homesickness, and mapping out his future.

Created and produced by @radical.media, THNKR gives you extraordinary access to the people, stories, places and thinking that will change your mind.